List of Donkey Kong characters

Donkey Kong^[a] is a series of video games published by Nintendo since 1981 and created by game designer Shigeru Miyamoto.

Donkey Kong and Mario have both had the roles of protagonist and antagonist in the series. Other characters have included other Kongs, the crocodilian villain King K. Rool, and supporting animal characters. This article lists the characters that have appeared in titles that revolve around Donkey Kong and/or the Kong family.

Oil Drum - In the original game, Country, Land, and Mario vs Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis, Oil Drums produce fire and enemies that can harm the player character. Country also features an Oil Drum boss named Dumb Drum.

Nitpicker - Nitpickers^[171] or simply "Birds" appear in Donkey Kong Jr., Donkey Kong Jr. Math, Donkey Kong for Game Boy, March of the Minis, and Minis March Again.

[170]

Snapjaw - A group of anthropomorphic metal with a powerful bite first appearing as vine-climbing enemies in Donkey Kong Junior.^[172] In Captain N: The Game Master, they have the outer appearance of piranhas, which carries into their appearance in Country 2. The character appears in a past setting in Yoshi's Island DS, climbing vines and only featuring in stages with Baby DK. Klaptrap is visually similar to the original incarnation of Snapjaw.

foothold traps

Gnawty - A race of that appears in Donkey Kong Country, Donkey Kong Land, Donkey Kong 64 and Banjo-Kazooie. Very Gnawty and Really Gnawty are bosses. Analogous rat enemies Neek and Sneek appear in the rest of Rare's Donkey Kong platformers.

beavers

Army - A race of that appears in Donkey Kong Country, Donkey Kong Land. One Army serves as a boss in Donkey Kong 64.

armadillos

Necky - A race of that appear in Country, Land, Country 2, Land 2, King of Swing, Jungle Climber and Barrel Blast. Master Necky and Master Necky Sr. are bosses.

vultures

Zinger - A race of from a large and complex hive on Crocodile Isle. They appear in Country, Land, Country 2, Land 2, and 64. Their monarchs are the bosses Queen B and King Zing.

hornets

Animals and other enemies called "baddies"^[169] appear throughout the franchise.

Timber - A whose parents go on holiday to Donkey Kong Island and leave him in charge of their home, Timber's Island, prompting Timber and his friends to organize a race. This is interrupted when a sinister intergalactic pig-wizard named Wizpig arrives at Timber's Island and attempts to take it over after having conquered his own planet.^[173] Timber hires a team of eight racers: Diddy Kong, Conker, Banjo, Krunch, Tiptup T.T., Pipsy, and Bumper to defeat Wizpig. Timber later establishes a hip-hop career.^[174] Timber was originally intended to be the main protagonist of a fourth entry of the R.C. Pro-Am series, titled Pro-Am 64. Miyamoto suggested adding Diddy Kong to the game and making him the main character.

tiger

Drumstick - A and the best racer on Timber's island, he is transformed into a frog by Wizpig's magic.^[173] After Wizpig is defeated, Drumstick is turned back into a rooster and unlocked as a racer.^[173]

rooster

- Conker the Squirrel debuted in Diddy Kong Racing as a promotion for his future titles. After the release of Conker's Pocket Tales (1999) for Game Boy Color, his previously announced N64 game was retooled for an older audience. Rare reimagined Conker as a fourth-wall breaking alcoholic armed with guns and knives.^[175] The game Conker's Bad Fur Day was released in 2001. In 2002, Microsoft acquired Rare, causing Nintendo to lose the rights to the character. In a later exegesis in reference to Diddy Kong Racing, Conker states that "things were different back then, you know, I was different - it goes without saying that you wouldn't catch me hanging out with any of those freaks these days".^[176]

Conker the Squirrel

- Banjo is a bear recruited by Diddy. Banjo made his debut as a playable character as part of the cast of Diddy Kong Racing. Banjo-Kazooie was released in 1998 and followed by several further Banjo-Kazooie games. Microsoft acquired the Banjo franchise in 2002 as part of Rare. In 2019, Banjo and his friend Kazooie were revealed as part of the first Fighter Pass for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate in a trailer set at Donkey Kong's treehouse, acknowledging Banjo's origins in the Kongs' world.

Banjo

Krunch - A Kremling and Diddy's enemy, who follows after him. The rights to Krunch were kept by Nintendo in the Microsoft acquisition.

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Tiptup - A with a nervous personality who lives on Timber's Island. Tiptup reappears in Banjo-Kazooie inside "Tanktup's Shell" in Bubblegloop Swamp with his own choir. Tiptup can also be found in Banjo-Tooie in the Turtle View Cave in Jolly Roger's Lagoon. He states that he has nineteen daughters; Banjo-Tooie depicts the birth of his first son. Tiptup also makes a cameo appearance in Banjo-Pilot, where he can be found in Clanker's River.

turtle

T.T. - A living stopwatch who lives on Timber's Island and is in charge of the race courses.

Pipsy - A who lives on Timber's Island. The design of Pipsy was originally intended for the main character of a game called Astro Mouse, which was cancelled. This character was redesigned by Kevin Bayliss and included in Diddy Kong Racing as Pipsy.^[178]

mouse

Bumper - A who lives on Timber's Island. In May 2012, Bumper is serving time in prison.^[179] He later makes parole, and is superficially remorseful for his actions.^[180]

badger

Taj - An -like genie residing on the island who aids Diddy and his friends. He is a playable racer in Diddy Kong Racing DS.

Indian elephant

Tricky - A who is one of Timber's Island's four guardians. He is the first boss in Diddy Kong Racing. A character named Prince Tricky in Star Fox Adventures was originally intended to be the same character as the Tricky in Diddy Kong Racing. Nintendo now owns the rights to the Prince Tricky incarnation of the character.^[181]

Triceratops

Wizpig - The wizard Wizpig is the main antagonist in Diddy Kong Racing. He is a giant pig from the planet Future Fun Land who seeks to conquer an island^[173] Wizpig turns the island's four guardians (Tricky the Triceratops, Bluey the Walrus, Bubbler the Octopus and Smokey the Dragon) into his henchmen. Ultimately, the rocket he rides on malfunctions and launches him to the moon. However, an additional cutscene reveals Wizpig's spaceship flying through the sky, unscathed.^[173] He is a playable racer in Diddy Kong Racing DS.

extraterrestrial

Diddy Kong Racing (1997) for the Nintendo 64 introduced several characters to the Donkey Kong franchise, some of which have appeared in other games by Rare. While Nintendo lost intellectual property rights to some of them in 2002, estranging them from Donkey Kong, they reappear in the Nintendo DS remake Diddy Kong Racing DS in 2007, except Banjo and Conker, who were replaced by Dixie and Tiny.

Supporting characters[edit]

Animal Friends[edit]

Animal Friends,^[185] also known as the Animal Buddies,^[186] Amicable Animals,^[187] and Jungle Buddies,^[188] are friendly animals who the Kongs can ride, transform into, or have perform various tasks. Among the known animal friends are: